Closing stock market indices

Here is how major stock markets outside the United States ended on Tuesday.
EUROPE STOCK EXCHANGE: European stocks sank, notching up their biggest one-day fall since October, as investors rushed to bank profits after weaker data and earnings worries sparked a sell-off on Wall Street.
Utilities ranked as the largest losing sector after their recent rally on merger speculation, while oil producers and miners weighed on the market alongside telecoms stocks after Vodafone was hit by downbeat broker notes. "The problem technically and psychologically is that we went ahead of ourselves; people have been chasing hot groups and hot stocks," said Philippe Gijsels, senior equity strategist at Fortis Bank.
FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 5,796.04 points, down 119.11 or 2.01 percent.
PARIS STOCK EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 5,000.45 points, down 80.07 or 1.58 percent.
ZURICH STOCK EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 7,892.63 points, down 102.42 or 1.28 percent.
MILAN STOCK EXCHANGE: The All Share Mibtel index closed at 28,784 points, down 446 or 1.53 percent.
SYDNEY STOCK EXCHANGE: Shares were flat as metal-price induced losses in the big miners such as BHP Billiton were offset by gains in project manager WorleyParsons Ltd and insurer Promina. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index lost just 2.8 points, or 0.06 percent, to 4,921.3 - based on the latest Reuters data - after hitting a near one-month closing high on Monday. The index fell 0.2 percent in February, logging its first monthly decline in four months.
JOHANNESBURG STOCK EXCHANGE: Stocks across the South African bourse were knocked lower by poor economic data, which was compounded by a drop in the oil price and a sell-off by big funds dumping shares in some emerging markets. The All-share index closed at 19,085.35 points, down 572.17 or 2.91 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,721.48 points, down 154.44 or 5.37 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 13,556.64 points, down 327.09 or 2.36 percent.